Too Normal For You
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [KawachixAzuma] No use crying over spilled flour. Slash!


Disclaimer:_ Yakitate! Japan_ and all affiliated materials are property of Takashi Hashiguchi and Sunrise.

Too Normal For You  
By: Nanaki BH

Kawachi was beginning to feel worthless. About three hours had already passed in their bakery and Kawachi hadn't found a use for himself yet. It wasn't so much his own fault as it was that the others didn't need him. They could do their own jobs just fine without him. Even the guy whose name no one remember didn't need him for anything. When he had asked Azuma if he could use some help, he turned him down with a smile on his face. Although that smile was meant to soften the blow, it just served to hurt Kawachi even more.

His place just didn't seem to be in the kitchen. Given that their workspace didn't have a T.V. or anything else even remotely entertaining, he settled himself down on a stool and attempted to content himself by watching Azuma work. Slow days were always the worst. Kawachi liked it the best when they had more customers because then he at least had a chance to do something useful around the place. When they were low on business, he would've often rather been at home – where he was needed.

At least Azuma was entertaining to watch. Days in the bakery were a lot different than the days they spent in competitions. Without the constant pressure of having to be the best, Azuma allowed himself to make mistakes. He never verbally pointed them out like some people would; he would only make some silly faces to express his displeasure with whatever it was he'd done. The bread he was making that day was the typical melon bread; a Pantasia classic and a customer favorite. Usually Azuma could make it no problem but for whatever reason, he was looking distracted.

Sometimes, it was a little hard for Kawachi to make bread around Azuma. He, alone, was a distraction to him. He didn't bug him or anything; it was just that his presence was more than Kawachi could bear. The smile he would give him every time he passed him the sugar from across the table would set his heart racing. Azuma made him feel so good about himself. Even though he felt a little bad about getting turned down, he was easily consoled by picturing Azuma's smiling face. Who knew somebody could turn his crappy bread into something so fantastic?

Kawachi's mind was taken from dreamland when Azuma's voice brought him back to reality. If he wasn't mistaken, he hadn't spoken a word… he was just getting real frustrated. When Azuma started voicing his frustration, Kawachi knew something had to be up.

"Azuma?" he asked softly, standing up from his seat. "Need help now, don't you? You've been working as long as you've been here. Just take a break already and let me take over, okay?"

He wasn't turned down flat-out, but the look Azuma sent him let him know that his assistance still wouldn't be needed. He definitely looked frustrated; a little angry, even. His eyebrows were scrunched up into a scowl and his lips were drawn together tight. The look he had in his eyes instantly sent a dagger straight into Kawachi's heart. Instinctively, he clutched at his chest as to sooth his wounded heart.

"_Sheesh_, Azuma! All I did was offer a little bit of help. You don't have to take it. That's fine, too." Naturally, he went to return to his seat but almost as soon as his words had left his lips, Azuma grabbed his sleeve and kept him near him at his side.

Sighing, he rolled his eyes. "Sorry, Kawachi. I guess it's just a bit hot in here." It was like the thundering clouds disappeared from his eyes when he spoke. The sun came out and there was the same old Azuma he was used to. It couldn't have been the heat; he knew it wasn't that simple. They had a fan on and it wasn't that much hotter than any other day. Kawachi had seen him fair better in much worse. Azuma wasn't the kind to submit to the weather; not where bread was concerned, at least.

He turned his back and continued working, kneading the dough. Kawachi had to wonder what his face looked like now since he couldn't see it any longer. When his back was turned, what sort of face did he have on? He couldn't help feeling a little ridiculous though. Why was he so concerned? He shouldn't have been believing in his intuition so much. There was the absolute possibility that he was wrong. There might have been nothing wrong with Azuma and he was just needlessly worrying himself over nothing.

Predictably, as soon as he sat down, Azuma needed him. He let out a little exclamation and threw his hands down onto the table. "I know what's been wrong here!" he said confidently. He turned around, embarrassedly rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't have enough flour. If you really wanted to do something for me, you could grab it off the top shelf."

Overjoyed to finally be of some use, Kawachi jumped up from his seat and practically flew to the cabinet where they stored their ingredients. No wonder Azuma had asked him to get it for him. Come to think of it, they would need more flour anyway. All the flour they kept on the lower shelves had disappeared. Their last flood of business had probably expended most of their resources. The last bit of flour they had remaining was hiding out on the very top shelf; far from Azuma's reach but just right for Kawachi to grab a hold of.

Unfortunate for Kawachi, he hadn't realized that the bag he was holding had already been opened. Things worked in slow motion from there. He set the bag of flour down onto the table, the tear on the side of it gave way, and all of its contents came rushing out of the bag like a dusty flour avalanche, covering everything, including Azuma, in a powder of flour. Kawachi looked up, every muscle in his body bracing as though he expected Azuma to launch himself across the table at him to beat him up for spilling the last of his precious flour. Instead, the way he acted about it was a little less expected.

He remained silent; the silent, scary Azuma. His eyes were blank as he stared down at his ruined melon bread. Kawachi wasn't sure what more he could do than apologize. He was just about ready to offer to go to the store to buy some more when Azuma raised his hand to silence him. "It's fine," he said. "It wouldn't have been that good anyway."

"What are you saying?" Kawachi sputtered, attempting to clear some of the spilled flour from the table. "Your melon bread is always perfect. It's like it doesn't matter what you do to it. It always turns out fine." Looking up, Kawachi's heart broke at the utterly forlorn look on Azuma's face. No matter what he would say to him, it didn't seem it would make him any happier. It wasn't the flour Azuma was sad over, either. There was something else, deeper, that was troubling him.

Laughing lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood, Kawachi stepped forward, closer to Azuma to brush some of the flour from his cheeks. "Heat, right? I'm telling you, Azuma, you should just take a break then."

Unexpectedly, Azuma swatted away Kawachi's hands and rushed forward, pressing his lips firmly against his friend's. Oddly, Kawachi didn't find it uncomfortable or anything. He calmly wrapped his arms around Azuma's waist and held him close, deepening the kiss for him. He'd never really thought about it, but kissing him was all he'd ever wanted to do. He always just felt like he was a step behind Azuma, not quite good enough for a person as perfect as him. It was a relief to know that it was the same thing on Azuma's mind as well.

They parted somewhat awkwardly, neither of them quite sure what to say at first. Despite the vivid blush that matched his hair, Azuma was looking significantly happier. He looked away and combed his fingers through his hair in a feeble attempt to remove some flour.

"You… taste like flour," Kawachi mused, ever the comedian. Luckily, Azuma was amused and even released a small giggle of his own. There wasn't much to say, not when there was so much to feel. Neither of them really wanted to spoil such a moment with needless words. The best part was that it was mutual. When Azuma looked back up into Kawachi's eyes, the two of them just _knew_ and understood.

"I'll… go get more flour," Kawachi suggested.

"And I'll come with you."

Author's notes: I think I've been saying for about a year that I would write a _Yakitate!_ fic. Unfortunately, it never happened until now. It's a difficult fandom for me to spawn ideas for but I love the characters all very dearly. This story was quick, but I hope you enjoyed it. I really hope that fanfics for this show will take off; at the moment there doesn't seem to be too many. Once again, I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is always appreciated!


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